1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for reading image data from an original with an image scanner and for transferring the image data to a host computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In one example of the image reading and transferring system, an image scanner is connected via a connection cable to a host computer. The image scanner is provided with a reading mechanism for optically reading image information from an original and for producing image data. The image scanner is provided with a transmission/reception circuit which includes a Centronics communication port to which a Centronics connector is connected for connecting to the connection cable. The Centronics communication port and the Centronics connector are for transmitting and receiving parallel data to and from an external device. The image scanner can therefore transmit image data in parallel to the host computer via the connection cable.
The host computer is constructed from a personal computer, for example. The host computer is also provided with a transmission/reception circuit which includes a Centronics communication port to which is connected a Centronics connector for connecting to the connection cable. The host computer can therefore receive parallel image data transmitted via the connection cable from the image scanner. The host computer is constructed to be capable of transmitting the received image data further to a printer device such as a laser printer. The host computer can produce image data by itself and can transmit the image data to the printer device.